Jacob Grimm on Linguistics

Jacob Grimm, wrote: "As a matter of general logic, I am an enemy of grammar; it gives the appearance of being strict and exclusive in its rules, although it actualy limits pure observation, which I regard to be the soul of linguistic research. He who pays no attention to the perceptual fruits of observation - which from the very start do mock all theories by the certainty of their existence - will never make heads or tails of the impenetrable essence of language."